Indicator for the adjusting screws of rolling mills



May 22, 11923. 11,456,491

P. c. HALDEMAN INDICATOR FOR THE ADJUSTING SCREWS 0F ROLLING MILLS FiIedZJune' 21 1920. 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 22, 1923. 1,456,491

F. c. HALDEMAN INDICATOR FOR THE ADJUSTING SCREWS OF ROLLING MILLS Filed June 21 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

, Patented May 22, 1923.

llfldtfidi PTENT FEQE.

PAUL C. HALDEMAN, OF COATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO LUKENS STEEL COMPANY, OF COATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

INDICATOR FOR THE ADJUSTING SCREWS F ROLLING MILLS.

Application filed June 21, 1920. Serial No. 390,687.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, PAUL C. T'TALDEMAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Indicators for the Adjusting Screws of Rolling Mills, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in means for indicating the position of the main adjusting screws of a rolling mill and is especially adapted for large mills.

One object of the invention is to provide an indicator which can be mounted in a convenient position to the operator so that he may cooperate to the best advantage with the man manipulating the mill tables and also with the man who is operating the reverse engine that drives the mill.

A further object of the invention is to construct a dial for indicating the position of the rolls so that the operator can concentrate his sight upon one point of comparatively small area and locate the exact position of the rolls and can ascertain the distance between them in inches and fractions thereof.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an. end view showing a portion of the rolling mill in dotted lines and the indicator and th mechanism for driving the same in full lines; and

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of sufficient of a rolling mill illustrated by dotted lines and showing the dial and the operating mecha nism therefor in full lines.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to a large mill for rolling plates, al though it may be applied to any type of mill without departing from the essential features of the invention.

1, 1 are the housings of the mill shown by dotted lines. 2 is one of the adjusting screws for raising and lowering the rolls, which are of the ordinary type and not shown. These rolls are adapted to suitable boxes in the housings.

The screw 2 has a rectangular end slidably positioned in a passage of similar shape in a rotatably mounted member 2*, the latter carrying a driving gear wheel 8. In such construction, as the screw 2 turnsand moves upwardly, it is free to move unrestrainably in the latter direction only. The gear wheel 3 meshes with a pinion 4 on a stud carried by a bracket 5 which is secured to the housings shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Secured to or forming part of the pinion 4 is a gear wheel 6, which is slightly beveled and meshes with a beveled gear wheel 7 secured to a diagonal shaft 8 mounted at its upper end in bearings 9 carried by the bracket 5. The

lower end of the shaft 8 is mounted in bearings 10 and 11, projecting from a plate 12 secured to the rolling mill housing.

14 is an inner dial and 13 is an outer dial surrounding the inner dial, as shown in Fig. 1. The inner dial is mounted on a shaft 15 adapted to bearings 16 on the plate 12. On this shaft is a worm wheel 17, which meshes with a worm 18, on the shaft 8, so that the dial 13 is driven very slowly. The dial 14 is mounted on spider 19 secured to a gear wheel 20 mounted on the shaft 15 and turning independently thereof. Meshing with this gear wheel 20 is an intermediate gear wheel 21 on a shaft 22 adapted to bearings 23 on the plate 12 and on the shaft 22 is a beveled gear wheel 24 which meshes with a beveled gear wheel 25 on the shaft 8. This gearing is such that the outer dial 14 revolves at a greater speed than the dial 13.

26 is a pointer secured to a bracket 27 projecting from the housings of the mill. The extreme nd of this pointer 26 is bent down and is in line with the graduations on the inner dial. 28 is a bracket secured to the housings of the mill and has a curved slot 29 in which is mounted a pointer 30. This pointer projects in line with the graduations of the outer dial can be adjusted so as to be in a direct line with the pointer 26. By this means, the operator can see at a glance the position of the two dials in respect to their pointers. The graduations of the inner dial, in the present instance, indicate inches, while the graduations of the outer dial indicate fractions of an inch.

31 indicates the pipes leading from any suitable lubricating system to the bearings. While I have shown this arrangement of pipes, it will be understood that any suitable lubricating device may be used without departing from the essential features of the invention.

The apparatus is used in the following manner: The adjusting screws 2 are turned by suitable mechanism to change the opening between the rolls of a rolling mill. The

adjusting "screws at each side" of the mill areturned in unison. The device here1nbefore described is connected so as to turn 7 with 'one of these screws, as shown in the drawings. The operator who controls the mechanism that operates the screws can stand at any convenient point in front of the dials and can raise or lower the upper roll of the mill so as to space the rolls accurately as the indicator indicates the space I in inches, as well as in fractions of an inch. This device is placedat a convenient point where the operator can cooperate with the man handling the mill'tables, as well as the housing, 7 lower portion of said hous ng, a shaft, and

means for operatively associating the opposite endsof said shaft with said ad usting mechanism and with saiddial, respectively,

whereby the position of' 'said rolls may be indicated onsaid dial.

2. The combination in an indicator for the adjusting screws of rolling mllls, of an ad- 'justing screw mechanism, a gear wheel thereoi 1,'a shaftfgearing between the shaft and the gear wheel by which the shaft is turned,

two dialsfone'located within the other, and

gearing between the dials and the shaft, the

ratiobetweenthegears for driving one of said dials being suchthat thedial will be turned comparatively slowly, while the ratio between the gears by which the other dial is turned will be such' 'that said dial'will be rotated at a speed greater than the speed of rotation of the other dial.

3. The combination in' an indicator forthe adjusting screws of rolling mills, of an 'adjusting screw mechanism, a gear wheel thereon, a'diagonal shaft, a gear wheel at the upper end of said shaft, intermediate gears between the gear on the shaft and the gear 011 the adjusting screw mechanism, a shaft having a dial thereon, a worm wheel on said shaft, a worm on the first mentioned shaft meshing with the worm wheel so that the dial will turn comparatively slowly, an outer dial,

a gear wheel carryingsaid dial and mounted loosely on the shaft of the inner dial, an intermediate shaft havlng a gear wheel thereon meshing with the dial gear wheel and having a bevel wheel at the opposite end of said shaft, and a bevel wheel onthe shaft with which it meshes so that the outer dial will revolve at a greater speed than the inner dial.

4. The combination in an indicator for the ad usting screws of rolling mills, of an adjusting screw mechanism, a gear wheel thereon, adiagonal shaft,- a bracket supporting the upper end of the shaft, intermediate gears mounted on said bracket and through which motion is imparted from the screw mechanism to the shaft, a housing supporting the screw and the bracket, a plate secured to the lower nortion of the housing, bearings on said plate for the lower end of the diagonal shaft, two dials, one located within the other, a shaft on which the lower dial is mounted, worm gearing between said shaft and the diagonal shaft so that thedial revolves comparatively slowly, a spider carrying the outer dial, a gear wheel on which the spider is mounted, an intermediate shaft, a gear wheel thereon meshing with the dial gear wheel, a bevel gear wheel on the op), site end of the intermediate shaft," and a bevel wheel on the diagonal shaft that meshes with the first mentioned beveled'gear wheel so that the outer dial willrevolve at a greater speed than the inner dial, the inner dial having gradua'tions in inches,-the graduati'ons of the outer dial being in'f'ractional parts of an inch. j

' 5. In an indicating mechanism for rolling mills, the combination with a housing for the rolls of said mill,-ofa 'roll adjusting mechanism mounted on an upper portion of said housing, a pair of relatively movable indicating dials rotatably moi' nted on'another portion of said housing," and means for operatively associating said dials and said adjusting mechanism in such" manner that the relative speed of rotation of said dials differs by a 'predetermined amount upon the operation of said adjusting mechanism.

6. In an indicator for the adjusting screws of a rolling mill, the "combination with" an adjusting screw mechanism, of atwo "part dial mounted for rot'a'tive 'mot-ion, and 'driving means therefor inter-connecting the same and said adjusting "screw -mechanism in such manner that, upon the operation of said adjusting screw mechanism,one of said dial parts moves at al'speed greater than that of the other.

7. In combination, a' driven member, a shaft having aldial thereon, said shaft and driven member being operativelyassociated, and agear wheel mounted'loo'sely' on said shaft and'carrying a second dial, saidgear wheel and said driven member" also being operatively associated.

8. In combination, a' driven member, a shaft having a dial thereon, said shaft and driven member being operatively associated and a gear wheelmounte'dloosely on said shaft and carrying a second dial, said gear wheel and said driven member also' 'being operatively associated in such maniierthat, upon the operation of said driven iiie'mber, the relative motion of said dials differs.

9. In combination, adrivenmember, a

shaft having a dial thereon, a gear Wheel mechanism operatively associating said shaft and said driven member, a gear wheel loosely mounted on said shaft and carrying a second dial, a second shaft, and gear Wheel mechanisms operatively associating opposite ends of said second shaft with said gear wheel and with said driven member, respec tively.

10. In combination, a driven member, a shaft having a dial thereon, a gear wheel mechanism operatively associating said shaft and said driven member, a. gear wheel loosely mounted on said shaft and carrying a second dial, the second dial surrounding the first mentioned dial, a shaft, and gear wheel mechanisms operatively associating opposite ends of said second shaft with said gear wheel and with said driven member,

respectively, whereby, upon the operation of said driven member, the relative motion of said dials differs.

11. In an indicating mechanism for rolling mills, the combination With a housing for the rolls of said mill, of a roll adjusting mechanism mounted on an upper portion of said housing, a shaft driven by said adjusting mechanism, a second shaft mounted on a lower portion of said housing and carrying a dial, said first and second shafts being operatively assodiated, a gear wheel loosely mounted on said second shaft and carrying a-second dial, a third shaft mounted adjacent to said second shaft and carrying gear wheels inter-connecting said second dial and said first-mentioned shaft.

PAUL o. HALDEMAN. 

